During the 2nd Generation, the CHARCO (Charter Arms COMPANY), under new management and reorganized, the quality was definitely more spotty and haphazard.

The original Charter Arms produced revolvers chambered in calibers.22 Long Rifle,.22 Winchester Magnum,.32 Long,.32 HR Magnum,.327 Federal Magnum,.357 Magnum,.38 Special,.41 Remington Magnum,.44 Special, and.45 Colt.

The most famous revolvers manufactured by Charter Arms are the.44 Special Bulldog and.38 Special Bulldog Pug.

History edit Douglas McClenahan, a young gun designer who had previously worked for Colt, High Standard, and Sturm, Ruger founded Charter Arms in 1964 to produce handguns.

His first pistol was a five-shot revolver called The Undercover chambered for.38 Special.

McClenahans innovation was to avoid using the side plate designs manufactured by other revolver makers for a one-piece frame, giving the new revolver a strength that allowed it to safely shoot high loads.

McClenahan also reduced the number of moving parts used in the gun and created a safety device for the firing pin.

The company, then located in Stratford, Connecticut, went bankrupt in the 1990s, but the Charter design and mark were resurrected by Charter 2000, which was founded by the Ecker family.

The new company capitalized on the fame of the old Charter Arms revolvers.

Basing their new line of weapons on the basic Charter Arms design, the new company has made a few improvements such as the use of a one-piece barrel and front sight.

The one-piece barrels of the new models are machined with eight grooves instead of six for higher velocity, flatter trajectory and better accuracy.

Charter Arms Bulldog S Full Rear Position

The new models feature a completely blocked hammer system so that the gun cannot fire unless the trigger is held in full rear position.

In 2005, Charter 2000 announced that it would be filing for bankruptcy, blaming the costs associated with nuisance lawsuits for their financial trouble.

In September 2005, MKS Supply entered into an agreement with Charter Arms where MKS Supply would handle the sales, marketing and distribution for Charter Arms.

In 2008, Charter Arms brought the new Patriot revolvers to the market.

The Patriot revolvers were chambered for the.327 Federal Magnum, and were available in 2.2 or 4 stainless steel models.

The Charter Arms web site as of August 2011 no longer lists this model under the products category.

Also in 2008, Charter Arms announced a new revolver: the Charter Arms Rimless Revolver.

The new revolver would be able to load and fire rimless cartridges such as the 9mm,.40 SW, and.45 ACP without the need for moon clips.

Initially, the revolver was to ship in early spring, however, reported problems with the patents delayed the introduction.

Charter Arms set a release date of April 2009 for the CARR.

However, Charter Arms missed this deadline, and company representatives have suggested the release date may not be until late July of 2009.

The CARR which was subsequently called the Pitbull finally reached production in August 2011 and the first Pitbull models had a 2.3 barrel and were chambered for the.40 SW cartridge as this is the most popular U.S.

Pitbull to be used as a back-up gun to the.40 service pistol.

In October 2010 MKS discontinued the sales and marketing of Charter Arms.

Charter now has taken over the sales and marketing function.

Charter Arms.327 Fed.

AmmoLand.com Shooting Sports News.

Charter Arms New Revolutionary Rimless Revolver.

Charter Arms websiteArchived June 25, 2014, at the Wayback Machine Southpaw.

Charter Arms Bulldog S Serial Number Info That

Charter Arms. Retrieved from Categories: Hidden categories: Heres some information from a thread on another board that I had bookmarked: 32 Magnum wrote: Popeels, This is the updated serial number info that I have - based upon around 600 data points The earliest 1st Gen - 0 to 3000 NO ADDRESS company founded in 1964, first production pieces of the Undercover model produced in 1966 Bridgeport address - 3000 to 31,500 1967 - 1969 Stratford address - 31,600 to 1,090,000 1970 - 1991 All marked as Charter Arms Corporation 2nd Generation - CHARCO, Ansonia Conn adress - 1,100,000 to 1991 - 1999 3rd Generation - CHARTER 2000 - Shelton Conn - 0 to where ever they are today.

From the 26 pieces in my collection (all 1st Gen) and from dozens more that Ive had the opportunity to observed and fondle, Id say that around sn 600,000 the finish was made a lot finer - although the integrals (lock work, action) was at least as good as the earlier ones.

I have or have read magazine articles that cover pretty much of the production life of the 1st Generation, and during that period (around late 1980, early 1981) it seems that CA attempted to capture more of the market by doing so, also in April of 1981, they introduced Stainless Steel revolvers into the mix, for the first time.

Some of the articles lamented that the earlier pieces, although rough finish, were rather inexpensive and when CA began their modernization process, the finishes got better but the prices increased to about 85 to 90 of the SW line for comparable models.

Charter Arms Bulldog Serial Numbers